Written Answers Tuesday 1 February 2011

Scottish Executive

Care of Older People

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people applied for free (a) personal and (b) nursing care in Glasgow in the last year for which information is available.

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications for free (a) personal and (b) nursing care in Glasgow were approved in the last year for which information is available.

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applicants who qualified for free (a) personal and (b) nursing care in Glasgow received it in the last year for which information is available.

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applicants for free (a) personal and (b) nursing care are awaiting a decision on their application.

Shona Robison: Information in the format requested is not available. However, Scottish Government statisticians have been working with COSLA and local authorities on developing a new data collection system that records the eligibility criteria and waiting time of clients receiving a new free personal and nursing care service. The first data from this new collection will be released as "Data under development" on 29 March 2011.

  The data under development will provide a breakdown of new applicants for free personal and nursing care services by local authority where this information is available.

Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-33340 by Kenny MacAskill on 22 April 2010, how many individuals were successfully prosecuted under section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 in 2009-10, broken down by procurator fiscal area.

Kenny MacAskill: The latest available information is given in the following table.

  Persons with a Charge Proved for an Offence where a Religious Aggravator was Recorded by Approximate Procurator Fiscal Area1, 2009-10

  

Procurator Fiscal Area
2008-09


Argyll and Clyde 
10


Ayrshire 
7


Central 
18


Dumfries and Galloway
7


Fife
3


Glasgow
129


Grampian 
8


Highlands and Islands
2


Lanarkshire
32


Lothian and Borders 
13


Tayside
6


Scotland
235



  Note: 1. Based on a mapping of sheriff and district courts into procurator fiscal areas.

Electricity

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-37929 by John Swinney on 16 December 2010, what the status of the 2011 National Planning Framework Monitoring Report will be in project decision-making and development plan preparation.

John Swinney: The purpose of the 2011 National Planning Framework Monitoring Report is to keep the National Planning Framework under review, so the weight attached to it in decision-making and development plans will be for the decision maker. The second National Planning Framework remains the Scottish Government’s spatial plan for Scotland and policy until it is replaced.

Employment

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how long it considers investigations of allegations of harassment or bullying should take.

John Swinney: It is for individual employers to decide how long they consider it is reasonable for investigations into bullying or harassment to take. The Scottish Government’s Fairness at Work policy states that it expects formal complaints made under the policy to be resolved within five weeks.

Energy

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the peak demand for electricity consumption (a) has been in each of the last 10 years and (b) is forecast to be in each of the next 10 years.

Jim Mather: Regular monitoring and forecasting of peak electricity demand is the responsibility of the National Grid and annual (historical) figures for the UK are published by the Department for Energy and Climate Change. But forecast information is not held centrally.

  From 2005, following the introduction of the British Electricity Trading and Transmission Arrangements, official figures for Scotland are not available separately. Information before then is listed in the following table:

  

Year
Simultaneous Maximum Load Met (MW)
Date


UK
Scotland


2009
60,231
-
7 January 2010


2008
60,289
-
January 2009 (no specific date)


2007
61,527
-
17 December 2007


2006
59,071
-
23 January 2007


2005
61,697
-
29 November 2005


2004
61,013
5,579
13 December 2004


2003
60,501
5,909
8 December 2003


2002
61,717
5,688
10 December 2002


2001
58,589
5,504
January 2001 (no specific date)


2000
58,452
5,861
December 1999(no specific date)


1999
57,849
5,847
-



  Source: Digest of United Kingdom Energy Statistics (Department for Energy and Climate Change).

  Data covers the period ending March of the following year, for example, data for 2009 are for the year ending March 2010.

Environment

Elizabeth Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will update the information on the visual influence of built development and land use change recorded in the August 2008 edition of Scottish Natural Heritage’s Natural Heritage Indicator, which stated that, between 2002 and 2008, "the extent of Scotland unaffected by any form of visual influence declined from 41% to 31%."

Roseanna Cunningham: I understand that Scottish Natural Heritage plans to publish an update on its Natural Heritage Indicator, Visual influence of built development and land use change by the end of January 2011. This will confirm that the area of Scotland from which no built development is visible reduced from 31% in January 2008 to 28% in December 2009. This is in the main caused by wind turbine development and its associated visual influence which is greater than development at ground level.

Environment

Elizabeth Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the findings of the final report, commissioned by it, Review of Status and Conservation of Wild Land , by the University of Leeds’ Wildland Research Institute.

Roseanna Cunningham: The Leeds University, Wildland Research Institute report Review of the Status and Conservation of Wild Land in Europe is a useful contribution to the debate on wild land following on from the European Parliament resolution of February 2009 calling for special status and stricter protection for wilderness zones in Europe and the Natura 2000 network. The research examined approaches to the management of wild land elsewhere in Europe comparable to that found in Scotland with a view to identifying lesson from their experiences relevant to the future care of wild land in Scotland.

  A key recommendation of the report is for the identification of wild land areas so that these may be safeguarded. Scottish Natural Heritage’s (SNH) wildness mapping project will give a more detailed view of the extent and location of relative wildness than the current indicative search areas of wild land. The new maps will inform revisions to SNH’s guidance and advice regarding wild land in Scotland.

Environment

Elizabeth Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what statistics are available regarding the contribution made to the economy by the natural heritage sector.

Roseanna Cunningham: There are no annual statistics produced specifically for the natural heritage sector. However, some analysis has been undertaken in reports commissioned by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Scottish Government, although each report looks at different aspects of the natural heritage contribution. The details are as follows:

  

Report name
Published
Estimated Contribution
Number of Jobs


SNH Commissioned Report 72: The role of the natural heritage in generating and supporting employment opportunities in Scotland 
2004
£2.2 billion
93,000


Valuing our Environment - The Economic Impact of Scotland’s Natural Environment (SNH)
2008
£17.2 billion
242,000


SNH Commissioned Report 398: Assessing the value of nature based tourism in Scotland 
2010
£1.4 billion
39,000


The Economic Impact of Wildlife Tourism in Scotland (Scottish Government)
2010
£64 million
2,760



  Copies of the reports can be found on the following web links:

  http://www.snh.org.uk/pubs/detail.asp?id=489

  http://www.snh.org.uk/pubs/detail.asp?id=1035

  http://www.snh.org.uk/pubs/detail.asp?id=1548

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/05/12164456/0.

Freight

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with the UK Department for Transport regarding plans to improve rail freight links between Scotland and England.

Keith Brown: Transport Scotland and Department for Transport officials meet regularly to discuss cross-border rail freight links. Discussions are taking place on proposals to improve rail infrastructure on the East Coast Main Line across the Anglo-Scottish border which could benefit freight movements.

  Regular dialogue is also maintained on the administration of Freight Mode Shift Grant applications which involve cross-border flows.

Freight

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to assess whether the grant criteria and process for applications for freight facilities grants were unnecessarily restrictive and deterred applications.

Keith Brown: The freight facilities grant (FFG) is a state aid and the scheme required the approval of the European Commission. The scheme rules are the same across Great Britain. We, the Department for Transport and the Welsh Assembly Government held a joint review of the Freight Mode Shift Grant schemes over the period from summer 2007 to summer 2009. No changes were made to the freight facilities grant scheme as a result.

Freight

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made as to whether state aid issues have arisen in relation to individual freight facilities grants.

Keith Brown: Freight facilities grant (FFG) is a state aid. The scheme was therefore notified to the European Commission (EC) in 2001 and notice was received of the scheme’s compliance with the state aid rules later that year. The EC approval noted that the aid as proposed was proportional and that it did not unduly distort competition. We have ensured that funding distributed under the scheme has been consistent with the terms of the approval given by the EC. The application process obtains information about sources of financial assistance so that any additional state aid issues can be addressed during the application assessment process.

Freight

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met the Freight Transport Association and what matters were discussed.

Keith Brown: My officials last met the Freight Transport Association on 26 January 2011 to discuss winter resilience, the Rosyth to Zeebrugge freight service and other matters of mutual interest.

Freight

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much of the budget for freight facilities grants (FFG) has been underspent in each of the last three years and to what projects this underspend was reallocated.

Keith Brown: The following table shows the underspend in the FFG budget for the financial years 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10.

  FFG Budget and Spend (£ Million)

  

Year
Budget
Spent
Underspend


2007-081
12.9
2.2
10.9


2008-09
13.1
3.9
9.2


2009-101
13.1
0.7
12.8



  Note: 1. Where projects do not deliver their commitments, recoveries are effected. £235,935 was recovered in 2007-08 and £407,594 in 2009-10.

  The unused funds were managed as part of the Scottish Government financial outturn within its overall budgetary resources.

Freight

Cathy Jamieson (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has received from (a) industry and (b) environmental organisations regarding the future of freight facilities grants.

Keith Brown: We have received representations from the following industry organisations either directly or through their MSPs:

  Freight on Rail;

  Ailsa Horizons Ltd;

  Deltix;

  Rail Freight Group;

  Highland Spring Ltd;

  Freight Transport Association (FTA)*;

  Ferguson Transport (Spean Bridge) Ltd;

  Direct Rail Services Ltd (DRS), and

  HITRANS.

  Note: *Albatrans UK Ltd, Russell Logistics, The Erdington Group, The Malcolm Group, JF Hillebrand Scotland Ltd, Scottish Council for Development and Industry and Strathclyde Partnership for Transport were co-signatories of the FTA letter.

  We have received representations from the following environmental organisations either directly or through their MSPs: Campaign for Better Transport and Transform Scotland.

Fuel Prices

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what average domestic fuel prices (a) have been in each of the last five years and (b) are forecast to be in each of the next five years and what comparable information it has for (i) each of the other component parts of the United Kingdom, (ii) each EU member state and (iii) each OECD country that is not an EU member state.

Jim Mather: Information specifically on fuel prices and comparisons with other countries is not held centrally. However, some of the information requested is available from the following sources:

  Chapter 6 of the Scottish Government Energy in Scotland Report provides an overview of domestic energy price statistics, including average annual domestic electricity and gas bills for Scotland and England and Wales. The report is available at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Business/Energy.

  The underlying energy price statistics within the Energy in Scotland Report are sourced from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), and are available on their website at:

  http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/prices/prices.aspx.

  The DECC website also publishes forecast fuel prices but acknowledges that they are not intended to be detailed forecasts or predictions and should not be released as forecast retail prices since government does not take a view of what prices will be set in competitive global markets. The report is available at:

  http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/projections/projections.aspx.

  Comparisons of fuel prices in EU countries are also published by DECC and are available on their website at:

  http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/publications/prices/prices.aspx.

  OECD estimates of "Energy End Use Prices in OECD countries" are available at:

  http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/energy/energy-prices-and-taxes_16096835.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-38294 by Kenny MacAskill on 11 January 2011, whether the same convention rights of individuals and international obligations attaching to information provided by foreign authorities would have to be taken into account whether the order were amended by primary legislation or by statutory instrument.

Kenny MacAskill: Yes, the same convention rights of individuals and international obligations would apply.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-38294 by Kenny MacAskill on 11 January 2011, whether it can confirm that considerations in relation to data protection legislation are not relevant in this case given that section 194K(4) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 ensures that, where Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission disclosure is permitted by means of a statutory order, "the disclosure of the information is not prevented by any obligation of secrecy or other limitation on disclosure (including any such obligation or limitation imposed by, under or by virtue of any enactment) arising otherwise than under that section."

Kenny MacAskill: No, considerations in relation to data protection legislation are relevant in this case.

  Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-38294 by Kenny MacAskill on 11 January 2011, whether it intends to bring forward primary legislation and, if so, whether it will specify the reasons for so doing rather than amending the order by means of a new statutory instrument.

Kenny MacAskill: Primary legislation is needed for full flexibility to ensure that an appropriate legislative framework is put in place. The proposed legislation will facilitate, as far as possible, the release of a statement of reasons by the commission in circumstances where an appeal has been abandoned. In doing so, it will also maintain appropriate provision for such matters as data protection, the convention rights of individuals and international obligations attaching to information provided by foreign authorities.

  John Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive on how many occasions drivers prosecuted for road traffic offences that would normally result in a ban have not received a ban in each year since 2007.

Kenny MacAskill: The available information on the number of driving offences for which persons were disqualified from driving is given in table 25 of the Criminal Proceedings in Scottish Courts 2007-08 statistical bulletin, table 6 of the motor vehicle offences 2008-09 additional datasets and table 5 of the motor vehicle offences 2009-10 additional datasets. These are available at:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/04/27103325/0;

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/Datasets/MV0809, and

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice/Datasets/MV0910.

Justice

Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Justices of the Peace there were in each sheriffdom in (a) November 2007 and (b) January 2008, broken down by (i) gender and (ii) ethnicity.

Kenny MacAskill: There were some 2,700 Justices of the Peace (JPs) in November 2007, of whom some 2,200 demitted office on 10 December 2007, leaving about 470 remaining JPs in January 2008. This decrease in the number of JPs was a result of reforms to the summary justice system, which saw judicial office being limited to those JPs who sat on the bench, as opposed to merely exercising signing responsibilities. These reforms, unanimously approved by Parliament, formed part of the Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007.

  The JP register held by the Scottish Government is configured in such a way that it cannot provide a historical snapshot of the make-up of the JP population. Furthermore, no ethnicity information on JPs was held centrally prior to December 2007. Since December 2007, however, information on ethnicity and disability has been collected and monitored, particularly in relation to recruitment exercises.

  Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Justices of the Peace have been appointed since December 2007, broken down by (a) gender and (b) ethnicity.

Kenny MacAskill: There have been 59 new Justices of the Peace (JPs) appointed since December 2007. Details are as follows:

  (a) Gender

  

Gender
Number of JPs
%


Female
20
34


Male
39
66


Total 
59
100



  (b) Ethnicity

  

Ethnicity
Number of JPs
%


Black and Minority Ethnic 
3
5


White
54
92


Not Given
2
3


Total
59
100

Justice

Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many unpaid fixed penalty notices have been written off in each of the last three years, broken down by (a) sheriff court and (b) offence committed.

Kenny MacAskill: This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court Service (SCS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCS who will reply in writing.

NHS Procurement

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what reason NHS Health Scotland uses a private provider for its occupational health service rather than NHS Lothian.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Health Scotland uses a private provider for its occupational health service because, having retendered for this service, as required by law, and having undertaken a procurement process in line with current legislation, this private provider was deemed to offer best value for money compared to other organisations which tendered for the contract.

  Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which NHS boards use private sector providers to deliver their occupational health services.

Nicola Sturgeon: NHS Health Scotland is the only NHSScotland board to use a private sector provider to deliver their occupational health service.

Planning

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what persons must be notified of a pre-application consultation on an application for quarrying.

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what form a pre-application consultation on an application for quarrying should take under the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006.

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action will be taken if a developer has not undertaken the required processes for a pre-application consultation on a planning application under the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006.

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what organisations must be consulted in a pre-application consultation on a planning application for a new quarry.

John Swinney: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-38980 on 1 February 2011. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive for what classes of development a pre-application consultation must be undertaken as specified in the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 and what provisions are made for each such class.

Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what pre-application consultation is required under the Planning etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 for an application for quarrying.

John Swinney: All applications for planning permission for national and major developments require pre-application consultation (PAC). National developments are those specified in the annex to the second National Planning Framework (NPF2) and major developments are categorised in the Town and County Planning (Hierarchy of Developments) (Scotland) Regulations 2009, links provided below.

  NPF2: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/07/02105627/0.

  The Hierarchy Regulations: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2009/51/contents/made.

  The Hierarchy Regulations specify that development for the extraction of minerals where the area of the site is or exceeds two hectares is a major development. This threshold relates to the area where extraction is proposed. Where an extension is proposed to an existing operation, the threshold only applies to the proposed extension.

  The statutory requirements for PAC are the same for all national and major developments. Prospective applicants are required to:

  consult every community council whose area, or part of, is within or adjoins the land where the proposed development is situated;

  hold at least one public event for members of the public where they can make comments to the prospective applicant proposals. The event must be advertised at least 7 days in advance in a newspaper circulating in the locality of the proposed development. That advert should also specify a timescale and address to which written comments on the proposal can be sent to the prospective applicant, and

  serve a proposal of application notice on the planning authority.

  In addition to these mandatory steps, the planning authority can require the prospective applicant to carry out additional pre-application consultation.

  A report on the pre-application consultation must accompany applications for national and major developments. If an applicant has not complied with the statutory requirements for PAC, or any additional requirements specified by the planning authority, the planning authority cannot process the planning application.

  Further information on PAC can be found in Circular 4/2009 on Development management Procedures at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/07/03153034/0.

Prison Service

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what access to prisoners the Scottish Prison Service will be required to provide to those canvassing for votes following the UK Government’s announcement on prisoner voting; when it anticipates such access to commence; what discussions it had with the UK Government prior to the announcement; what discussion it has had since the announcement, and how many prisoners it expects to be affected by the proposed change.

Jim Mather: On 17 December 2010, the UK Government announced its proposals to enable convicted prisoners sentenced to terms of four years or more to be automatically barred from registering to vote. Initially this will only extend to UK and European Parliament elections and as a result, the first elections at which prisoners will be entitled to vote will be the European elections in 2014.

  When giving prior notice of this announcement to the Scottish Government, the UK Government undertook to consult the Scottish Government about how the policy will operate in practice. No discussions have yet been held but detailed arrangements and the numbers of prisoners entitled to vote will become clearer during this consultation.

  Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of self-harm by prisoners there were in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010, broken down by institution.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked John Ewing, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  The following table illustrates the total number of self-harm incidents recorded as such on the Prisoner Record System broken down by establishment.

  

Establishment
2009
2010


Aberdeen
10
8


Addiewell
24
66


Barlinnie
9
5


Cornton Vale
41
46


Dumfries
9
3


Edinburgh
1
13


Glenochil
8
6


Greenock
7
3


Inverness
8
3


Kilmarnock
39
38


SPS Open Estate
1
0


Perth
4
9


Peterhead
14
13


Polmont
8
5


Shotts
1
1

Public Sector Pay

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to increase the living wage for its employees on an annual basis.

John Swinney: The pay of staff below Senior Civil Service level in the Scottish Government is determined within the parameters set by Public Sector Pay Policy. The Scottish Government’s Public Sector Pay Policy for 2011-12 requires employers covered by its provisions to introduce a Scottish living wage, currently set at £7.15 per hour. All full-time staff in the Scottish Government are currently paid above that rate. Any revision to the Scottish living wage set out in future Public Sector Pay Policy will be taken into account by the Scottish Government in determining minimum rates of pay.

Regeneration

Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the budget allocation for the Irvine Bay regeneration area will reflect the difficulties faced in the local area.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government is aware of the challenges that are being faced in North Ayrshire, particularly issues around worklessness. This is why we have already provided £7.8 million to Irvine Bay Urban Regeneration Company (URC) since 2007. We will continue to support Irvine Bay URC in 2011-12 and will announce final funding allocations in due course.

  Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether North Ayrshire Council’s allocation to the Irvine Bay regeneration budget is proportionately higher than the allocations of other local authorities to their regeneration budgets.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government does not hold official figures on individual local authority budget allocations for regeneration activity. This is a matter for the local authorities concerned.

  Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will address regeneration in areas of deprivation in the budget for 2011-12.

John Swinney: The Scottish Government remains committed to the regeneration of Scotland’s most deprived communities. Despite unprecedented levels of spending cuts from Westminster, we will continue to support a range of regeneration activity in 2011-12. This will include:

  Support for Scotland’s Urban Regeneration Companies, with priority investment in Clyde Gateway URC to support the delivery of a successful Commonwealth Games;

  We have set up the new £50 million JESSICA (Joint European Support for Sustainable Investment in City Areas) fund which will begin to invest in projects in key regeneration areas during 2011;

  The regeneration resources associated with the former Fairer Scotland Fund, which have been retained within the 2011-12 local government finance settlement;

  Support for the contribution made by registered social landlords to the regeneration of communities through our investment in the Wider Role Fund;

  Continued funding support for tackling vacant and derelict land through our vacant and derelict land fund, and

  Continued investment in our learning networks to support those working to deliver regeneration to identify, share and apply practice and innovation.

Roads

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will set out a full timetable for the dualling of the A9 between Perth and Inverness also showing construction costs.

Keith Brown: As I confirmed in the Members’ Business debate in the Chamber on the A9 on 20 January 2011, although it would clearly never have been possible to design, authorise, procure and complete major dualling of the A9 in the lifetime of this Parliament, the Scottish Government has committed to dualling the A9 from Perth to Inverness and have put the project into the Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR), so that it is on record as one of our priorities.

  I also confirmed that dualling this section involves approximately 87 miles of new carriageway and, as the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth made clear during the debate, that requires in-depth planning and design to ensure we deliver the right scheme, taking into consideration all the factors, including environmental constraints, such as the protected Cairngorms National Park.

  Once these stages have been completed, we can then finalise the timescales for the upgrading of the A9 which will be undertaken in the context of overall affordability and our commitments to the STPR recommendations.

  Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will upgrade the A9 Moy 2+1 overtaking lane to dual carriageway status following its closure in November 2010 due to safety concerns.

Keith Brown: As part of normal procedures, a road safety audit of the A9 Moy improvement was carried out shortly after opening and this identified some driver behaviour which could produce a potentially dangerous situation. The overtaking lane was closed to protect safety and Transport Scotland is currently considering options for resolving the issues identified.

  The Scottish Government is committed to planning for the dualling of the whole of the A9 between Perth and Inverness and has already announced further improvements. The detail for this work, in terms of design, costs or programmes will be defined in the context of the development of the Strategic Transport Projects Review intervention relating to the upgrading of this trunk road from Dunblane to Inverness and wider funding and resource commitments.

  Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when the dual carriageway on the A9 at Killiecrankie was constructed.

Keith Brown: The A9 dual carriageway improvement was opened to traffic in November 1983.

Scottish Natural Heritage

Elizabeth Smith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on the principles set out by European Parliament resolution INI/2008/2210, Wilderness in Europe, which was approved by 538 votes to 19 on 3 February 2009.

Roseanna Cunningham: The Scottish Government welcomes the discussion and debate in the European Parliament about the contribution that Europe’s wild areas make to safeguarding biodiversity. In contrast to Scotland’s wilder landscapes, some of which show the imprint of past generations, some continental areas are wilderness in the true sense of the word – including relatively pristine forests in Eastern Europe. A Scottish approach to the issues raised by the resolution is therefore appropriate.

  We have commissioned research exploring approaches to the management of wild land elsewhere in Europe and are considering the results of this study. In the meantime, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) is currently undertaking further work on the definition and mapping of wildness and wild land areas. We will consider the results of this when it is completed.

  The Scottish Government will keep under review progress on the resolution in discussion with SNH.